Bolton under-9 boys team qualifies for Disney world tournament

The Bolton Wanderers under 9 boys' soccer team traveled to London to compete in the summer's biggest soccer tournament, the John Henderson Memorial Tournament.

The under 9 boys opened the tournament with a 2-1 victory against Sarnia on goals from Nicholas Davids and Anthony Marino.

In Saturday's afternoon match, Bolton faced the Southwest Euros, which proved to be an important game for both teams trying to qualify for the semifinals. Braedyn Phipps scored Bolton's only goal in what turned out to be their first loss of the tournament, 2-1. Bolton's final match of

the group round was played Sunday morning against Norwest, where only a win would put the Wanderers through to the semifinal. The Wanderers proved to be the better of the two teams as they went on the win the game 2-1 on goals by Braedyn Phipps and Anthony Marino, who scored the winning goal in the final minute of play from a free kick, and sent the Wanderers to their fourth semifinal appearance of the summer and booked their ticket to Orlando Florida.

In the controversial semifinal against a strong Kitchener team, the Wanderers fell 3-0 down at

the half. In the second half the boys battled back. Justin Donatelli scored two goals before Anthony Marino tied the game with five minutes left to go. Unfortunately, in the final minute of the game, Bolton conceded a goal, which ended the game and the tournament in a 4-3 loss for the Wanderers.

Although the Wanderers did not make their third final of the summer season, they did qualify for the SuperClubs National Championships for Elite Soccer Clubs in Orlando Florida, at Disney Worlds Wide World of Sports in July 2007. The SuperClubs Championships consist of North America's powerhouse clubs where participation in the tournament is restricted to the best of the best. Next July 150 high quality, prestigious club teams will compete for the North American Championships. The Bolton Wanderers under 9 boys are one of eight teams from Canada to be invited to this annual tournament that hosts the top soccer clubs that have established excellence in youth soccer in their communities.

Coach Marco Moras is very proud of his team, club and parents, and although the team did not succeed in winning the gold medal in London, the goal at the end was to qualify for the North American Championships.

"It's an honor to be invited to such a

tournament, and to represent Bolton at the highest level of soccer. This was something that at the beginning of the summer we believed was possible, but became reality this weekend," said coach Moras. "The boys will remember the experience of playing against the best teams in North America for the rest of their lives."

Bolton received the invite after combining a 27-win, 6loss, and 2-tie summer season with a final four appearance at this weekend's tournament that hosted more than 160 teams from all over Ontario.

"It has been a very successful summer and we look to do well when we travel to Orlando, where the goal will be to be crowned North American Champions," concluded Moras.